Izola

Izola (/ˈiʐola/), officially the Izol Islands (Izol: Inoa Izola) is a country located in Deltoro. It consists of 25 islands, 1 oblast and 13 provinces. It borders Ostana to the south at its oblast province of Sojotonotono.

Provinces & Islands
Izola has a total of 13 provinces. The largest province is Centá, home to the capital and the largest city of Izola: Ágá. It stretches from the centre to the north of the collection of islands, with very short trade routes to Melút and Moteli, the two nearest islands. Centá also has a small island off of its coast, which is currently under development for a new arena. Centá has 'archipelago' status, given to areas of Izola that consist of more than one island. This status is also given to the following provinces: Lonis, Mjntas Mortas, and Moteli.

As well as archipelago provinces, the majority of Izol provinces have 'island' status, given to areas of Izola consisting of only one island. The largest island province is Laatu, followed very closely by Melút. Other island provinces include: Edizol, N'trlio, Oia, and Sodizol.

Two provinces of Izola hold some extent of autonomy due to major cultural differences. These include Káku Olura, to the south east of the country, and Ouauano to the west. The island of Oia, near the autonomous region of Ouauano, has also been considering becoming an autonomous region and a referendum to see if Oia will join Ouauano and Káku Olura in the 'League of Izol Autonomy' is rumoured to be hosted.

One province of Izola holds special status. The province of Sojotonotono holds the status of 'oblast', as it is the only region of Izola that is connected to a landmass. Izola plans on extending its borders further past Sojotonotono, however it is unsure of any claims in the area beneath it. Sojotonotono is the coldest region of Izola due to its proximity to the ice found in the south of Maia.

Ethnic Groups
Izola is home to 3 major ethnic groups: Izol, Káku'a and Onauano.

Káku'a people
Káku'a people reside mostly in the Káku Olura province of Izola, with a negligible amount of other ethnic groups living on the island. The ethnic group gained autonomy on August 27th, 1983, in a referendum that ended with a 90.3% vote for autonomy.

Káku'a people are culturally diverse to Izol people, as they originated from mainland Sonrisa, currently an unclaimed territory. Due to the colder climate, the Káku'a people have been known to wear more clothing, as well as pyramid shaped hats to allow snow to easily roll off. Also, Káku music has grown popular in Izola. The music tends to have a lot of drums and ambient sounds. They also speak their own language closely tied to the Izol language: Káku.

Onauano people
The majority of Onauano people reside in the Oia and Onauano province of Izola. Onauano gained its autonomy on February 28th, 2015, in a referendum that ended with a 78.2% vote for autonomy. Oian Onauano people also voted in this referendum, however due to low turnout because of a storm that had left a lot of buildings in ruins, the referendum was cancelled until June 2016.

Onauano people speak Onauano. Not much is known about the Onauano people, as they make up a very small proportion of the general population.

The flag of Oia and Onauano are both very similar, however due to Onauano's autonomy, it bares the Izol lotus in the top left of its flag - a symbol only given to autonomous regions of Izola.

Izol people
92% of people living in Izola are ethnically Izol. 100% of the people living on Edizol, N'trlio and Sodizol are ethnically Izol, with a very large majority being found on all other provinces excluding Káku Olura, Oia and Onauano.

Izol people, just like Onauano and Káku'a people, are racially ambiguous.

History


The full gif showing the history of Izola can be found here!

1917 - 1921 • Exploration Era

Izola's final shape on the map came about in July of 1950 when sea levels sank dramatically. The island nation found itself partially submerged since then, however the first establishment of any communities on the archapelago was found on the floating islands of Mjntas Mortas - specifically on the islands of Pjk and Bebe. According to Maian geologists, all 9 of the floating mountainous islands have never been flooded and it is still a global phenomenon as to why the islands are floating.

In 1917, the town of Bebe was established with an estimation of just 23 inhabitants. The town soon expanded to take over the entire island, thus naming the island 'Bebe' as a whole, rather than just applying it to the town. Bebe Town was renamed to simple 'Bebe Tn' to avoid confusion amongst locals. In 1919, a group of researchers were sent to explore the largest floating island of Pjk. They began in the south with various camps and eventually exanded northward.

1922 - 1933 • Káku'a and Onauano Era
Izola was slowly revealing itself to the planet which many more islands beginning to show face including modern day Káku Olura, Ngeto, and the four main islands of Laatu, Moteli, Melút and Centá.

Since the growth of Káku Olura starting in the north-east, Káku'a people settled their villages in the area, quickly and efficiently taking over the small island. The island spread to the west however the population was too sparse to appoint a capital city.

By 1925, the reserachers managed to explore the entirety of Pjk island. Smaller communities were beginning to establish themselves on the islands nearby to Bebe - namely Yiyi and Kuku. Very few people lived on the islands however it was eventually discovered that many peaceful people groups lived on the individual islands. Negotiations began in 1930 to allow for exploration of the other 8 islands, which was met with strong agreement by the residents.

In 1932, the Onauano people settled in what is now central Onauano, however at the time, the island was divided between north and south. The Farmers Union, a group of people from various Sonrisan countries settled in the northern half of Onauano atop the highlands while the Onauano people explored the coast.

1934 - 1940 • Lonis Era
The first modern day province boundary was established in 1934 by the people groups of the floating islands. The islands were to be later named 'Mjntas Mortas', Izol for 'Dead Mountains' based on old folklore which mysteriously linked the islanders together. The researchers and people groups completed taking control over the 9 islands by 1934, despite deciding on the name of the 'United Mountaineers' for the time being in 1933.

The Onauano and Farmers Union began expanding on their halves of the divided island of Onauano. Similarly, Káku Olura faced further expansion and began conquering land to the western lower-lying lands.

On the central island, a group of expatriates grouped together to form a new territory. The group was settled in southern Floris, now a part of modern day Lonis, and the people were known as Izolans. 1938 marks the earliest date back to use of the word 'Izola', 'Izol' and 'Izolan'. The group spread relatively quickly taking over the southern tip of the island and growing rapidly in population.

1941 - 1949 • Expansion Era
This time period is described as what gave Izola its wealth and unique architecture. The communities grew and research from the United Mountaineers continued, however the two groups on the Onauano islands grew even further, now with the Farmers Union occupying the entire northern island whilst the Onauano people occupied the whole southern island's coasts.

The Izolans also grew to occupy the southern half of Floris island, meeting at a drying river source at the middle of the island. The Izolans further explored both sides of the river as it began retreating to the coast.

The islands and surrouding land continued to grow until the reached their final and current state in 1950.

1950 - 1960 • The Decade of Establishment
With politics growing stronger in the archapelago, the people groups began establishing in rural areas within modern day Izola. The most successful establishment to occur in this time was the creation of the micronation known as Torota. Torota immediately established a capital city, Torota Town on the southernmost peninsula of modern day Laatu, now a fully connected island. The Torotans were known to be particularly stingy, rich and unsociable, thus drawing a perfectly straight line to disconnect themselves from any outsiders north of the peninsula. The final border was established in December of 1950.

Tavai also established itself in the centre of modern day Sodizol, also a fully grown island. The development was slow initially due to extreme weather and mountainous terrain. By 1951, the entire island was covered.

Many various desert communities established themselved on in the northern desert of Centá island. Being Izola's largest island, the communities were fairly spread apart and travel between the communities was difficult, however by 1951, the communities banded together to form the Desert Community Union, covering the majority of the desert excluding its southern coast at modern day Lula bay and Mother Rock island to the north. Its capital city was located in the centre of the desert, called Centá. Another community, known as the Lost Rock community, settled in 1954 as a blockade to further coastal expansion of the desert community. At this point, the DCU had spread to central Centá and mother rock, and they soon began to push Lost Rock onto the undiscovered Lula coast. By 1957, the Lost Rock community fled to what is now known as Loretto's Peninsula and soon expanded towards Lula avoiding contact with the DCU border.

Expansion of the Izolan community was extremely rapid. By 1960, the entire nation had covered the island of Mopoit and Moteli. Moteli expansion was halted when an indigenous group was discovered in the centre of the island - the Motelites - which expanded their territory rapidly. The Izolans made an agreement to maintain peaceful borders with the Rut agreement. Many cities were also established, such as Izola (formerly the capital), Zos (the capital as of 1960), Mopoit (the capitol of Lonis province today), Porto, Niva Banka, Nora, Naom, and with its new expansion onto southern Centá: Toku.

With rapid Izolan expansion, the Izolans made the decision to designate a large portion of its GDP to the exploration of southern lying islands, thus creating the new communities of South Izola. These communities expanded onto Laatu island and took over Verona island almost immediately. expansion in 1960 came to a halt when they were met at the Torota border.

The Káku'a people continued to expand peacefully, now with the lowlands discovered to the south of the island. In 1954, the capital city of Káku was established on the newly decalred republic.

In 1953, a war was fought between the now conjoined Onuano people and the Farmers Union. The battle was won eventually by the Onauano people and a capital city was established in the centre of the island: Gapia. This was a shortlived capital city for the new nation, as in 1954, the Onauano people conquered the newly discovered island of Oia to the west. The capital city changed to Otra to allow for quick travel between the two islands, and the formation of the first Oian town occurred; enter Noxiana.

By 1960, the United Mountaineers and the Izolans formed to create the Izol Islands through a peaceful agreement.

1961 - 1970 • The Frontier Decade
In 1963, the Izolans met the DCU at central Centá island between the former territory of Lost Rock and the newly established city of Ágá. At this time, the Lost Rock residents were ambushing the city of Lula and halting further southern expansion for the DCU. The Centá Treaty was signed by the LR, the DCU and the Izolans to unite under one peaceful nation which was known as the North Izol Union of Islands (NIUI).

Meanwhile in the south, the development of the separate Izolan group exploring the island of Laatu decided to unite with Torota and peacefully agreed to respect the wishes of the communities living within northern Laatu providing them with semi-autonomy. A capital city, Ngeto, was established, along with other smaller cities around the island of Laatu. The two islands formed to create Ngeto and Laatu, a separate state from the NIUI.

In Moteli, the Motelites had also agreed to accept semi-autonomy under Izol power, thus creating the IEXZ (Indigenous Exclusion Zone). This allowed for expansion onto the smaller neighbouring island of Neglij and soon N'Trlio island in 1968.

Tavai had also renamed itself to Sodizol, which is the name used for the island they once occupied today.

1971 - 1988 • The Unity Decade
In 1971, the creation of a new province, Sojotonotono, was founded on the mainland. It was exclusively used for research and few people were granted access, however soon enough the creation of commercial towns occurred with workers inviting family to live there as housing was extremely cheap in the area.

In 1980, the island of Edizol was found off towards the eastern mainland towards the United States of Talados.

Finally, in 1988, a treaty was signed to grant autonomy to the regions of Onauano, Oia and Káku Olura. This put the Izol Islands Government in control over the islands, however some devolved powers were granted to the autonomous territories. It also cited that Oia and Onauano was to be split to allow for growth and fair distribution of wealth between the two isolated islands.

This is the current formation of the 13 provinced of the Izol Islands, now simply known as Izola.

Tectonic Activity
The Izol Islands are almost entirely situated on the Izolic plate. This plate is shared with maritime neighbours Tayō Nohito and the United States of Talados. This had led to the country being susceptible to earthquakes, however only on various islands situated near the plate boundaries. It is said that the floating islands making up the province of Mjntas Mortas were created from a tectonic hot-spot in the area, and eventual erosion from tsunamis led to the islands becoming detached from the sea floor. The island of Sodizol is also said to be created from a volcano, now dormant despite sitting on the Izolic-Rraegic plate boundary. Occasional rumbles can be heard from Sodizol island suggesting a potential eruption in the near future, and so the island has been experiencing some premature evacuation to avoid casualties.

Due to their proximity to the Izolic-Deltorian plate boundary, the southern parts of the islands of Káku Olura and Laatu have been issued some earthquake and tsunami warnings. Residents of the Laatu city of Torota have stated their desire to move to the northern part of the island. Edizol is also susceptible to tsunami waves due to its proximity to the boundary towards the east.

The islands of Oia and Onauano have also been given major tsunami and earthquake warnings, with only a short distance between the islands and the Izolic-Median plate boundary -- a conservative plate boundary known to produce strong earthquakes. Similar warnings have been issued for the off-shore island of Mother Rock, Centá and the Northern Desert areas. These regions have been designated as "tsunami/flood zones", which allows residents living within the area to claim insurance in the event of a tsunami or a flash flood due to it having a very long fetch that stretches as far as Svu & Swae.

Finally, the island of Zuzu, Mjntas Mortas falls entirely in the Rraegic tectonic plate, and the island of Rere, Mjntas Mortas, straddles the plate boundary.

Due to Izola being surrounded closely by tectonic boundaries, it's recommended to live in the central islands to avoid any tectonic events, which has caused the centre of Izola to be heavily populated.

Zoning
The Izol government has designated areas of natural crises, with two separate categories: "tsunami/flood zone", "earthquake zone", and "volcanic zone". Residents living within a tsunami/flood zone are allowed to claim insurance in the event of a tsunami or a flash flood. Similarly, residents living within an earthquake zone are allowed to do the same in the event of a tsunami, flash flood, or earthquake. Those living within a volcanic zone are also allowed to claim insurance in the event of a volcanic eruption as well as a tsunami, flash flood or earthquake.

Currently, tsunami/flood zones (known as 'TFZs') have been allocated to the provinces of Edizol, Oia and Onauano, the counties of Mello and St. Souffis' in Melút, and the county of Mother Rock & Centá Desert North (MRCDN) in Centá.

Earthquake zones ('EZs') have been allocated to the provinces of Káku Olura and Sojotonotono, the island counties of Rere and Zuzu in Mjntas Mortas, and the counties of Estrecha, Carsel, Laatu Extrana, Ngeto, South Laatu and Witch's Point in Laatu.

Volcanic zones ('VZs') have been allocated to the province of Sodizol, granting extra insurance following tremors and rumbles. The province of Mjntas Mortas has also been granted quasi-VZ status due to its location on a tectonic hot-spot, however the islands of Pjk, Rere and Zuzu have been prioritised.

Regardless of their location, all graceland counties (1 each located on Centá, Melút and Moteli), have been granted insurance in the event of a natural disaster under the protection of Izol Heritage.

Warning Systems
Izola shares a warning system known as the Izolic Plate and Boundaries Warning System (or iZap) with its maritime and tectonic neighbours including D'unelaleh, Ostana, Rraegvoerrgh, Tayō Nohito, Tybalteva and United States of Talados. This allows all countries to alert the people of a tectonic event, its exact location. The iZap system works through SMS, mobile app, WiFi, TV, Radio and even 'warning towers' spread across the islands of Izola.

Tsunami Platforms
Tsunami platforms have been installed in the cities/counties of Carsel, Centá Tn, Chée, Loretto's Peninsula, Ngeto, Ostra, Otra and St. Souffis. These platforms allow for people to stand on top of them to avoid being washed away by strong waves.

Initial Investment
In 2009, the commissioner for Transport of Maians made the statement that "Izola has the worst transport links in all countries within Maia and it looks like it will stay that way for years to come" estimating just 2.3% of Izolans successfully making it on their daily commute to work using public transport. The only province served with transport links at the time was Centá, a circular metro service around Ágá. Following the statement, president Loretto Nepito invested 270,000,000,000 Oos to funding the devopment of Izol rail, metro and bus services. This is what is referred to as "The Investment" among Izol businessmen and train drivers.

Centá
Following the investment, 5 new lines were opened on the most populous island of Centá. This includes 1 overground line serving rural Centá run separately from the rest of the metro lines due to sand being too difficult to tunnel under. As a result, the furthest north the Centá HSR Metro Service is Lula Central. The rural overground network is known as the Desertline which stretches as far north as Mother Rock, currently a limited service with the construction of a new arena. Other rural communities along Izola's northernmost coast are also serviced as well as those far from any coastline. The five current metrolines consist of the aformentioned Capital Circular (marked in red), Electra (marked in purple), Lula (marked in green), Southwest Suburbia (marked in blue) and Southeast Docks (marked in yellow) lines. The latter two lines stretch to form quick links to all four of Centá's major cities: Ágá, Lula, Loist and Toku.

Following the development of the new metro and rail services, Ágá was to be split up by zones to increase fare charges as more and more people flock into the centre of the capital. Zone 1 occupies the centre-most parts of Ágá including the airport while Zone 5 occupies outer Electra to the east, northern Suburbia to the south and nothern Pig's Head County to the north. Zone 1 charges the most expensive fares. Controversy arose when the map for the new borders was drawn to have some unfair borders by zone. Zones 3 and 5 share a large border in the Electra, Centá Dvos and Lost Rock counties as well as some abnormalities along northern and southern Ágá. As a result, those living within the Zone 5 area have campaigned to either be adopted into Zone 3, Zone 4 or to be excluded from the zoning system altogether. Loist and Toku have also adopted a single-zone area to allow for free transport in the area.

A small portion of land is left unserviced by rail and metro lines due to Graceland laws.

Centá is one of three provinces to host stations for the Ostra-Naom underwater line. The three stations are all located on the south coast and do not provide a service to Ágá. The stations are: Loist, See'r and Toku. The line operates to serve the neighbouring provinces of Melút to the west and Moteli to the east.

As well as rail upgrades, Centá has also seen major bus improvements. Beforehand, only Ágá and Toku had available bus routes. Centá has since had to divide its bus route numbers up with an additional letter to signify the major economic hub it is serving. Some famous routes include the Á700 serving central Ágá as well as the international airport and T0, serving the Toku Docks.

Moteli
Moteli has seen major improvements in transport links despite not having the greatest newly developed transport links. Moteli's railway network is estimated to service just 60% of the main island. This is due to the large Graceland exclusionary laws and the exclusionary laws of the indigenous people. As a result, Izolans living in the county of Rut are left with no train services and few bus services. Other than that, the service has been extremely popular servicing hard to reach places such as Aguaston in the far north and St. Maria's in the far south. The entirety of the east coast of Moteli is covered by the Naom, Taïr + Niva Banka metropolitan area allowing for free travel to covered stations. Almost all residents living on the island have access to free transport due to its coverage.

Bus services are particularly popular in the far north as train links are not as well-developed as they are on the eastern coast of Moteli.

Moteli is served by the Ostra-Naom underwater train links at Naom station.

Melút
Much like Moteli, Melút has also struggled with railway expansion due to Graceland laws. Melút have also adopted a zoning section allowing for free transport to the cities located in the central band of the island as well as the capitol of Ostra. The covered cities include: Ostra, Chée, Grand and Kulo. Many complaints have been filed as the railway expansion has not been efficient enough for southerners or those living north to the city of Chée. Little train networks run along the coast and many southern towns have been left disconnected and must travel into the "travel band" (its local nickname) in order to travel elsewhere. This has caused major protests in Chée.

Bus services have become a necessity due to the slightly worse train links in the south. Buses are apparently significantly worse in the east of the island compared to the west, as almost all eastern services travel to Ostra and nowhere else.

Melút is served by the Ostra-Naom underwater train links at Ostra station.

Lonis
Lonis' railway expansion has been minor, yet effective. An underground line from Floris to Mopoit has proven to be very busy as Lonisites find it most difficult to travel from island to island according to a survey conducted in 2008. Nonetheless, the island of Verona (under the province of Lonis) is geographically situated closer to Laatu than the other two islands of Lonis, leaving no rail networks on the island. As a result, a 'bus boom' has taken place on the island.

The province also has access to the MMCC (Mjntas Mortas Cable Cars) via Central Izola Cable Car Station, also linked by the train network.

Laatu
Laatu's rail expansion features the highest growth in stations excluding the province of Centá. Originally, the train expansion served only the western portion of the island. Ngeto and Carsel were placed under a free transport zone slowly expanding eastwards to encapsulate Erodia Junction on the Laatu Strait. All points and corners of Laatu were later served as well as the Northern Communities who complained about bus emissions and would prefer trains to and from Ngeto and Carsel to avoid pollution.

Buses are uncommon in Laatu due to the successful rail expansion. The only city in Laatu with bus services is Torota in the south, providing a bus service around the city to various educational institutions.

N'Trlio
N'Trlio has had a tram service operating for many years, however 5 new stations were opened on the island to accompany the mostly bus-operated island. The trains have proven to be extremely efficient and have led to further compaints from Laatu residents due to ever increasing noise pollution.

Sojotonotono
Sojotonotono's unused rails were finally revamped to allow for researchers to get to and from work quick and easily. New commercial hubs have began springing up in Sojotonotono due to the new transport links such as New Ostana in the south, near the border with Ostana. Sojotonotono Tn Junction accounts for almost 90% of all train tickets bought on the island.

Mjntas Mortas
Perhaps the most surprising and controversial transport expansion has occurred in Mjntas Mortas with the opening of a cable car network spanning across all of the rural, isolated floating islands. All islands have 1 "cable-stop" with the exception of the islands of Pjk and Rere. Major cable-stops include Pjk North, Pjk South, Bebe Town and Central Izola.

The controversy arose when residents from unserved islands and provinces complained about the "extreme waste of money that is the cable cart system". This is likely attributed to the tiny population of all of the islands. Local celebrity Magenta Discharge from northern Pjk tweeted back with "The MMCC is a work of art that will be a historical masterpiece in the coming years. Long live Izol intelligence!"

Due to the cable car links, the province has seen a massive boom in tourism.

Unserved Islands and Provinces
These are islands with no train, metro or cable services. This does not include bus services, however in all of these areas, buses tend to be uncommon anyway.

Verona (Lonis)
Verona was formerly attached to Laatu by land, however due to rising sea levels they have since been both administratively and geographically separated. Negotiations with the Laatu superiors have considered connecting Verona by the Laatu rail network rather than the Lonis network which has begged the question if Verona is Lonisite or Laatuan.

Káku Olura
Káku'a people have not been particularly offended by the lack of transport links as almost all of the population is concentrated in the city of Káku and residents tend to drive or walk to the places the need to go.

Sodizol
Sodizolers have not been bothered by the lack of transport simply because a rail network would be impossible to install on the dangerous island.

Onauano
Onauano people have been complaining about the lack of underwater train links between Onauano and Oia. The government has considered installing a line, however are unsure that it will be used as many people tend to travel between the two islands by boat or even by swimming!

Oia
It was announced that Oia will never be given its own rail services unless the government agree to link Oia and Onauano by rail.

Neglij Island of Conserved Nature (Moteli)
It was announced that the island will never receive transport links so as to keep the island free from any pollution. All visitors must arrive by boat.

Edizol
It was announced that Edizol will never be given its own transport services. A single bus service operates along the single road along the west coast of Edizol serving 100% of the generally elderly residents.